Schenley Plaza’s lawn, gardens and landscape are designed to withstand Pittsburgh’s city conditions, complement our regional ecology, and suit the needs of park-users.  Various “green” design techniques helps the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy reduce landscape maintenance costs so that more of our time and funds can go back into the parks.

• Gardens feature abundant native plants and flowers that peak at various times of the growing season – see the Seasonal Bloom Guide to discover what’s in our gardens.
• Schenley Plaza’s soil was custom-designed for maximum absorption of storm water to prevent pooling and erosion.
• The Emerald Lawn measures more than an acre and is composed of blue-grass sports turf, which tolerates frequent use.  An irrigation system and specially designed soil helps keep maintenance to a minimum.
• Schenley Plaza’s London planetrees are part of a groundbreaking tree genetic study in collaboration with the City of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Museum of Natural History. This study, which is receiving attention from the national horticultural community, is the first step in establishing an insect- and disease-resistant population of London planetrees.

What’s growing in Schenley Plaza:

• 470 perennials in 5 varieties
• 300 shrubs
• 320 ornamental grasses in 3 varieties
• 22000 groundcover plants in 3 varieties
• 14,500 flower bulbs
• 450 annuals planted each summer

Shrubs
Taxus cuspitada capitata                                 Upright Japanese Yew

Ornamental Grasses
Calamagrostis X Acutiflora ‘Karl foerster’      Feather Reed Grass
Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’                Chinese Fountain Grass
Helictotrichon sempervirens ‘Sapphire’          
Blue Oat Grass   

Perennials
Achillea fillipendulina ‘Coronation Gold’        Fernleaf Yarrow
Echinacea purpurea ‘Magnus’                          Purple Coneflower
Salvia X Sylvestris ‘May Night’                         Sage
Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii ‘goldstum’   Black-Eyed Susan
Hemerocallis  (mixed orange and red)              Daylily

Ground Cover
Liriope spicata                                                 
Big Blue Lily Turf
Heuchera ‘palace purple’                                 Coral Bell
Tiarella cordifolia ‘brandywine’                       Foam Flower

Bulbs
Narcissus x         Daffodil
Crocus x hybridus        Hybrid crocus
Galanthus nivalis        Common snowdrop

Summer Annuals
Botanical Name    Common Name
Canna x generalis    Black Night Canna
Colocasia esculenta    Black Magic Elephant Ears
Coleus    Saturn Coleus
Ipomoea batatus ‘    Margarita Sweet Potato Vine
Petunia x    Royal Velvet Supertunia
Setcresia pallida    Purple Heart Setcresia
Strobilanthes dyerianus    Persian Shield
Verbena bonariensis    Verbena
Canna x generalis    Yellow Futurity Canna
Lantana camara    New Gold Spreading Lantana
Canna x generalis    Tropicanna Canna
Lantanta camara    Tangerine Spreading Lantana
Zinnia angustifolia    Classic Orange Zinnia
Ageratum x    Artist Blue Violet Ageratum
Cosmos bipinnatus    Sonata Mix Cosmos
Angelonia angustifolia    Angel Face Blue Angelonia
Cleome hassleriana    Rose Queen Cleome
Salvia farinacea    Victoria Blue Salvia
Tagetes erecta    Yellow African Marigold
Tagetes erecta    Gold African Marigold
Tagetes erecta    Orange African Marigold

Seasonal Bloom Guide

SPRING:
April 1 - May 30
Color Scheme: Light pink, lavender, purple   
Primary Flowers: Tulip, pansy

SUMMER:
May 30 – July
Color Scheme: Yellow, orange, white
Primary Flowers: Shasta daisy, swan river daisy, sunflower

July 30 – September 15
Color Scheme: Gold, yellow, crimson, scarlet
Primary Flowers: Zinnia, dahlia

FALL:
October 30 – November 30
Color Scheme: Burgundy, rust, green accent
Primary Flowers: Pansy